Dave Doeren's Thoughts After NC State Upsets No. 8 Georgia Tech

RALEIGH — NC State stunned No. 8 Georgia Tech in front of its home crowd Saturday night, pulling off the 48-36 upset. After fielding questions about potentially retiring throughout the week, NC State head coach Dave Doeren silenced doubters by leading his team to victory.

The win marked the Wolfpack's first home win over a top 10 opponent since 2021, when it took down No. 9 Clemson in double overtime.

An emotional Doeren spoke to the media after the win, sharing his thoughts on the performances of his stars and the program's ability to put a game together when it needed to most.

Watch Doeren's Press Conference

Doeren's Notable Quotes

Oct 11, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren claps as he walks onto the field against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

On the effort of his team and the fan base

"With the injuries that we've had and the number of guys that were out in that game, we needed guys to just really rise up. There weren't even backups in certain spots in this game..."

"Our fan base tonight, it was Homecoming, it was an awesome crowd. You guys were in it and we thank you for that because there's a lot of people out there that have quit on us and for those of you that came tonight, you didn't. And so thank you for your support for these players, and I'm so proud of them and happy for them, because it's been a tough year."

Fans storm the field at Carter-Finley Stadium as NC State upsets No. 8 Georgia Tech 48-36. @WolfpackOnSI pic.twitter.com/v655WOCcRJ
— Tucker Sennett (@SennettTucker) November 2, 2025

On the performance of redshirt freshman running back Duke Scott in the win

"I'm not surprised at all. I mean, that was the 16th-ranked rushing defense in the AC. We thought we could run the football on them. They play a lot of cover two, which gives you an opportunity, numbers-wise, to hand the ball off and run it and Duke is way faster than people know. That's why we made him a kickoff returner."

"Obviously, we didn't tonight, because he had more on his plate in the backfield, but I'm not surprised. I mean, he comes to practice every day since he's been here and you see what kind of electric player he is and all through high school, the kind of player he was there."

Duke Scot — Nov 1, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack running back Jayden Scott (4) runs the ball around Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets linebacker E.J. Lightsey (2) during the first quarter at Carter-Finley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

On finally playing complementary football in a game

"When we play complimentary football, 11-man football, guys doing their job and answering the call when they need to, we're a really good football team and it's unfortunate it's taken us a while to play a whole game that way."

"We haven't other than Campbell. But against a power four team, it's just been halves of football where we played well and tonight we put it all together and I've been telling them that. It'd be really fun to see how good we are when we play four quarters of complementary football."

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